Raptor (Generals)
Countermeasures Advanced Training |imgsize = 250px |imgdesc = }} The F-22 Raptor is the USA's primary all-purpose attack aircraft during the War against the GLA. A relatively light and fast aircraft, the Raptor is armed with four missiles that could be used against either ground or air targets. Background Both the US Air Force and the Navy use the Raptor, although the Navy aircraft was generally modified to be lighter (with only two missiles) for use on aircraft carriers. The inherent vulnerability of the Raptor to anti-aircraft eventually inspired the development of the King Raptor. Air Force General Granger helped to develop a new generation of Raptors dubbed 'King Raptors', that included a number of notable improvements in design. Upgrades Game unit Essentially the most powerful multirole fighter (bar the King Raptor) in the game, they are efficient anti-vehicle bombers, excelling at destroying unprotected enemy vehicles. Raptors are nonetheless highly vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire, especially from weapon platforms such as the Quad cannon. As they were quite expensive to construct and equally fragile, commanders had to take great care to prevent unnecessary losses. Assessment Pros *Versatile fighting against ground or air target *Fast *Can attack most units *Lethal against aircraft and ground vehicles Cons *Relatively weak armor *Ineffective against infantry and structures *Even if Countermeasure is upgraded, it is still weak to missiles *Vulnerable to non-missile AA weapons *Costlier than China's MiG fighters Notable Events Navy Raptors aboard the [[USS Reagan|USS Reagan]] assisted greatly in the removal of GLA forces from coastal areas; however, many of the aircraft were subsequently lost when the Reagan was sunk by the GLA. Tales abound of desperate pilots attempting to take off from the deck of the sinking Reagan (which was cut in two), only to plummet into the sea. Selected Quotes Gallery File:Generals_Raptor.jpg|Two Raptors flying above Mogadishu to destroy a GLA armored camp at the dockyards File:Avraptor_alt.jpg|The early 'Raptor Attack Craft' File:CNCG_Old_Raptor.png|Another render with neutral house colors File:americanraptorconcept.jpg|Concept Art File:GensZHRaptor.png|Another render with a blue cockpit File:Raptor_Texture_1.png|Texture 1 File:Raptor_Texture_2.png|Ditto File:Raptor_Texture_3.png|Ditto Videos File:C%26C_Generals_—_Raptor_Audio|Raptor quotes Notes *The picture indicated is not an F-22 Raptor, rather, it is the craft's ATF prototype, the YF-22 Lightning II. This may be because the actual F-22 Raptor went into USAF service in December 2005, two years after the game's release. Before this the YF-22 was competing the YF-23 Black Widow for America's fifth generation fighter, this possibly explains why earlier concept art looks more like the YF-23 and as the YF-22 was winning the lead in competition, they changed the unit to be more like the real-life Raptor. The box art for the original Command and Conquer: Generals features the YF-22, but Zero Hour's box art has a Raptor that looks more like the modern F-22A. *Unlike the F-22A in reality, the Raptor is not equipped with an autocannon. *In reality, the F-22 Raptor has stealth capabilities, which are not only matched with but more advanced than the Stealth Fighter in-game, the F-117 Nighthawk. The modern Raptor also has supercruise capability, which is the ability to go supersonic without resorting to afterburners. This would have matched or even superseded the Aurora's supersonic capabilities. *Also in real life Raptors initially were designed to have a navalized varient, but it was canceled in the 1990s. Currently the F-35 Lightning is designated to be the Navy's primary carrier-borne fighter (with supplements from other naval air elements). *Early concept art depicted the Raptor as being being far more boxier in appearance; the Raptor itself beared a strong resemblance to the (in real life) cancelled YF-23 Black Widow. The older version also used a darker, golden skin. Its model can still be viewed by browsing through General's art archive. In the Shockwave mod, however, the Black Widow appears as General Ironside's primary aircraft, only capable of air-to-ground combat however. *It carried six missiles (as opposed to four in the final game) that were carried on hardpoints underneath both wings, not internally as in the final game. *Originally, the Raptor was supposed to have a second upgrade: Extra Fuel, to stay longer in the air, but this was removed likely because that it was not needed, as all the planes in Generals only go to base when they're reloading. *If a Raptor is returning to base after using its missiles and the Laser Missiles upgrade completes, the Raptor will automatically reload in the air. ru:Раптор (Generals) Category:Generals 1 USA Arsenal Category:Generals 1 aircraft